Gleanings from an article on the Abortion Pill

The LA Times carried an article about 4 women dying after taking the abortion pill RU-486. Although this blog does not deal directly with abortion, some of the points in the article have broader implications for women's health.

• An FDA warning has been issued about the potential for serious bacterial infection under certain circumstances.
• The idea that it is acceptable for some women to pay the ultimate price so that the abortion pill can be legal
• The often repeated comments that childbirth is more than 10 times riskier than contraceptives and medical abortions.
• That doctors do not follow the FDA-approved regimen by cutting the dosage of one drug and instructing women to take the second vaginally, instead of orally, at home.
• The similarity between the desired effect of the drugs and the signs of a serious infection/reaction.
• The fact that reporting deaths and side effects of the drug is voluntary for doctors. The FDA estimates that only 10% of the problems with the drug are reported.

So , the bottom line appears to be:

• The FDA approves new drugs under specific use requirements
• Doctors might not follow those regimens
• Patients are self-administering, sometimes in non-sanitary conditions
• Patients can't self-diagnose problems
• To protect a political agenda, adverse reporting is limited
• There isn't enough data to carry out investigations
• No one really knows the risk involved so opinions become fact.

Hate to say it but that is often the scenario for women's reproductive health whether its a contraceptive, an STD, abortion or cancer.